Parallel Mirrors
by The Paper Crocodile
Summary: A road down to the path of ultimate destruction, where nothing is true and everything is permitted. Series of short snippets delving into certain points of time in the world of Assassin's Creed. Watch out for spoilers.
1. Traitorous

**Title **- Traitorous  
**Rating **- T  
**Warning **- Swearing, major spoilers  
**Disclaimer **- All components used in this piece of fiction belong to Ubisoft. Not me

**A/N **- First things first; if you have not finished Brotherhood and do not want to know how the glorious game ends, do not read this fan fiction. It is something I wrote in response to the ending, so it is obvious that there are going to be Major Spoilers. Second things second; this is one chapter of what I'm planning to be many short snippets of certain moments in the Assassin's Creed world. There will be pairings, there will be canon, there will be things not covered in the games. There will be chocolate, too, but that's for later. And there will be Subject 16. I love the character of Subject 16 very much.

* * *

"No, stop, please! Don't – Don't make me –"

"It must be done." The cool, distorted voice pierced his eardrums, and he loathed it. _Abhorred _it. Absolutely fucking hated it.

A quick, sharp jolt ran up his left leg, and he was jerked involuntarily forward. Another step closer, another struggle for resistance as he desperately tried to regain control of his own body. The hidden blade was out, but it no longer provided a source of comfort and ultimate power; it provided the loss of hope, a vile, sick feeling in the pit of his stomach that it was going to be used to kill an innocent.

Not her, please, God, not her.

_She's not who you think she is._

The voice became lodged into his head, like a record stuck on the same place because of a bump in the road - a moment of uncertainty in his brain that he couldn't quite digest. What did it mean? She was the one who'd saved him from Vidic; she'd filled him in on everything and worked hard to help save the world.

She was nothing short of amazing. So why did a single sentence drive so much doubt about her into his head?

_You have to find Eve._

Adam, Eve, the Piece of Eden… Everything was steeped in religion. Desmond had begun to lose track of it all way back when, having never been a believer of any of it. Now, it was all he _could _believe. And he still didn't understand much. Go him, the supposed hero and descendant of the twelfth and fifteenth century's greatest Assassins. At least he knew what he was trying to achieve when he was reliving their memories. At least he knew what the _fuck _he'd been doing back there, and even if he did screw up there would always be another chance. The past stayed unchanged.

The future was full of uncertainties.

_She sees me raise the knife… She sees me… raise the knife._

Was he becoming like Subject 16? Was he, Desmond Miles, going to be remembered as nothing more than Subject 17 in the future, by other subjects, by other assassins… by himself?

He still struggled desperately against the goddess' power, trying to turn that gleaming blade away from her because she was the only person that had kept him sane throughout everything that had happened to him.

_She sees him raise the knife._

Only he sees it plunge into her; her blood, _her _blood, spurting onto _his_ hands.

"It has been done." The cool, satisfied voice was the last thing Desmond heard before he collapsed, onto the blood stains of everything he'd come to rely on, everything he had loved.


	2. Friendship, Or Something Like It

****Here are a few drabbles about Ezio and Leonardo. They can mainly be interpreted as either a friendship relationship or something willing to be more than that...

* * *

**Title **–Breathe  
**Rating **- K+

**A/N **– Drabble of exactly one hundred words. Slight Ezio/Leonardo

He'd witnessed his father and brother's deaths; turned his back on his childhood for vengeance; scaled buildings higher than could be considered possible and killed people for the cause of keeping Italy a safe and fair place. Everything he once thought he knew had been turned upside-down, and he had sworn to do anything in his power to keep alive his beliefs. He had kept that promise solemnly.

So why, after all he'd lived through, did Ezio have to remember how to accomplish the simple task of breathing when he caught even a glimpse of his long time friend, Leonardo?

* * *

**Title **– Loneliness

**Rating **– K

**A/N **– Drabble. Slight Leonardo/Ezio

As much as Leonardo enjoyed indulging himself in his work, he felt insurmountable guilt when he realised that he could not help Ezio any further than his own workshop. He constantly worried that Ezio would benefit more from the company of a fellow _assassino_, or thieves who knew exactly what they were up against, than an artist with impossible dreams and useless inventions. The loneliness that crept into Leonardo's bedroom late at night was unbearable because of those very fears. Yet Ezio came back, again and again, with a foolish grin and another scroll. That _had_ to count for something.

* * *

**Title **– Animals

**Rating **– T

**A/N **– Contribution to my Assassin's Creed II Drabbles written by LocalJuggernaut; check out her stories (you can find her in my 'favourite authors' list), you won't be disappointed. Drabble. Ezio/Leonardo

It was like the clawing of a starving beast on fresh meat when Leonardo and Ezio came together. Tangled in a heap of messy clothing and weaponry, desperate fingers scraped over loose cloth. Their every move radiated a sense of urgency: pull that off, take that away; reveal the naked flesh ripped with a thousand scars and more under the surface. Gathering his dignity, Leonardo paused to drink in the heaving, bare chest before swallowing his desire and closing his fist around Ezio's sweating palm. To Leonardo, their closeness meant more to him than a single night of animal lust.

* * *

**Title** – Refuge

**Rating **– K+

**A/N **- Drabble

There it stood, like a shining beacon of hope. Ezio stumbled to it, clutching the top of his left arm, covered in blood and breathing heavily. He knocked on the door and then leant against the wooden frame, hiding his face within the shadows of his hood. The door creaked open; feet covered in mahogany boots silently walked toward him; a comforting arm draped around his shoulders and guided him inside.

When the blood had been wiped away and his injuries wrapped in bandages, Ezio grinned sheepishly at his saviour.

"Any time, _amico mio_," Leonardo replied, smiling back. "Any time."

* * *

**Title **- Blissfully Unaware

**Rating **– K+

**A/N **– Double drabble of exactly two hundred words. One-sided Leonardo/Ezio

"So, you like… men…" Ezio said for the fourth time in as many minutes. Leonardo nodded slowly, fearing Ezio's reaction when the news sunk in properly.

It had been a spur-of-the-moment revelation from Leonardo's part. His true feelings for the assassin himself were still under tight wraps, but somehow Leonardo felt obliged that Ezio should at least know half of the story. That way, Ezio wasn't completely oblivious.

Suddenly, Ezio's face was right in front of his, his breathing slightly ragged. Leonardo gasped and tried to step away, but Ezio placed a firm hold on the small of his back. They stood in that position for a moment, neither man daring to even breathe, until Ezio pulled back, all smiles.

"Only kidding, my friend!" Ezio laughed as he saw Leonardo's shocked face. "You know me; I'm a ladies' man."

Although Leonardo knew that Ezio was just trying to reassure him in his own way, the remark stabbed straight through the artist's heart. The sincerity and truth behind the words served only to remind him what he already knew he could never have.

Yet Ezio had taken the revelation in his stride, and for Leonardo, that was easily more than enough.


End file.
